


Dark (excerpt)

by sleuth



Category: Original Work
Genre: Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-02
Updated: 2020-09-02
Packaged: 2021-03-06 21:46:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26245900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sleuth/pseuds/sleuth
Summary: An excerpt from the novel I'm working on, about urban raccoons under the oppressive rule of a gang.Though not a main character, the central character in this excerpt, Loam, is a raccoon who was kidnapped as a kit and forced into a labour camp where raccoons dig tunnels underground (for purposes unbeknownst to them), rarely seeing the light of day. The majority of raccoons, main characters included, have no idea this is even occurring.Feedback welcomed!See also on wattpad: http://www.wattpad.com/story/236821723-dark-excerpt





	Dark (excerpt)

Dark.

Spots danced across her vision as she woke from one blackness to another, pupils widening to try to make sense of her world. There was no up or down, only the scent of damp earth all around. Her heartbeat pulsed through her paws, telling her she was really there, and not in the belly of a snake.

Tiny pinpricks of light appeared in the distance--or the illusion of distance--and steadily drew nearer. Her first memories were of stars. But these stars blinked and danced, and they inspired not hope, but dread.

“Loam,” said the pair of stars in a voice vaguely familiar but to which she could not attach a name. “It’s your turn.”

In an instant all dread evaporated. Her limbs, once heavy, now glided on air. She bid the familiar voice a nod he could not see, and as she dashed past him she could smell the fresh air on his fur, damp with blessings from the sky.

The sky. It was her favourite thing in the world, and she longed for it with all her heart.

It was too cramped in the tunnels to run, but she rushed as best she could. It wasn’t often she was allowed to go to surface, and never seemed to occur with any discernable pattern. Keeping track of time down here was impossible, with no suns or moons, just an endless oppressive night. 

But she knew the way without thinking. She clawed up through the matrix, the tunnels widening to accommodate multiple raccoons at once, and the scent of the Above was within a breath’s reach.

“Halt, prisoner.”

A grisly voice froze her in her tracks. Her legs ached to stretch, to run, to feel the grass and dew. But she knew better than to disobey. She made herself small before the imposing figure of the guard.

The guard shoved his muzzle in her face, and inhaled her scent with a loud snort.

“Hrrmmm,” the voice grumbled. “Is that a mouse I smell? Hrm.” He sniffed and snorted again, shifting his weight and spitting up phlegm at Loam’s feet. She dared not flinch.

“Hrm, no, it’s only Lobe. Lousy little Lobe. Get out of here and back to work.”

“It’s Loam,” said Loam, “and it’s my turn for sky seeing.”  
The guard’s hair bristled in anger at her defiance. Loam braced herself. But he relaxed again, blowing hot rancid breath in her face as he guffawed.

“Sky seeing? The mouse wants some sky seeing? What’s there to see, eh? A mouse has got work to do, tunnels to dig.”

“But--”

“But nothing,” he snapped. “Sky seeing’s a privilege, not a right. I’ve heard you’ve been slacking. No more sky for you, not until you’ve scraped your claws down to nubs and you’ve busted your back so you can’t crawl. Now get out of my sight.”

Loam breathed in as if to speak, but words failed her and hope died on her tongue. She lowered her head and turned away, waiting until she was out of scent’s reach before breaking out into a run, or the closest thing the proximity of earth would allow. Left, right, she payed no heed to where she went, or return the greetings of familiar voices, or acknowledge stern warnings to watch her step. She ran, and wished she could be a mole, or a worm, who swam through the dirt like it was an extension of themselves. They were not prisoners of the ground and the dark, and had no one to tell them where they could or could not tread.

When at last she exhausted her muscles and her tears she collapsed in a dead end. She shuddered herself to sleep, and dreamed of stars and escape.


End file.
